Booth History Spotlight

[L Verge]

The title of this thread is the same as that of the quarterly newsletter produced by the Junius B. Booth Society of Tudor Hall. I just received my copy of the Fall issue and had a great time reading their feature article on Ella Mahoney's writings about visitors to Tudor Hall during the time that she lived there (1878-1948). Mrs. Mahoney turned one room into a museum about the Booth family and welcomed visitors to her home.

One paragraph in the three-page article especially caught my eye: "Among the first people who visited the place were Dr. Tonry and his mother Mrs. Tonry from Baltimore. Mrs. Tonry was formerly Anna Surratt. Their next door neighbors, acquaintances of mine, told me that someone rang the doorbell at Mrs. Tonry's one morning selling copies of a book about Mrs. Surratt; she fainted and fell on the floor. How sensitive she must have been after all she went through! Dr. Tonry was the first member of that unfortunate family to speak freely for publication, indignant at the untrue things that were published. His grandmother, executed as a criminal, has been officially represented as a criminal to justify the government's act. William Surratt also talked. They have effectively suggested that the quick judgments of wartime should not be accepted as a true evaluation of character."

I have to say that, while I am one who understands why the government acted as it did, that last sentence should be recited over and over today to those who are still vocal in their Civil War biases. Just today, we had a very vocal visitor who was impressed with what a good tour she got at Surratt House. However, she sort of ruined it by ending with, "Of course, I'm a Northern sympathizer, so..."

Stepping down from my soapbox - what book do you suppose was being sold door-to-door in the Tonry neighborhood? The only one during that era that comes to mind would be DeWitt's Judicial Murder. Helen Jones Campbell didn't do her frustrating work until the 1940s.

[RJNorton]

Laurie, DeWitt's book seems like the only logical choice to me. I do not know of any others from that time period. A person who comes to mind who might have written one is John Brophy, but I do not ever recall reading that he wrote a book.

[BettyO]

I agree - Dewitt's book is the only one on Mary Surratt existing at that time period unless the salesman was hawking a volume of the trial; which I doubt by that time period.

[Jim Garrett]

A great post Laurie.